I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Reduce, reuse, recycle and repeat. In a world economy that integrates markets from near and far, growth is often considered the defining mark between success or failure, renewal or demise.
Let’s not forget how important the 4 Rs – reducing wastes, reusing goods, recycling materials and then repeating the process all over again – are to keeping our environment sustainable. It’s time to re-evaluate why having more isn’t necessarily best.
Take a look at all the storage space you have for all your stuff. Businesses makes a profit selling you all that stuff, helping you organize all that stuff, and yes, even getting rid of all that stuff. Have you ever stopped to think about the negative indirect impacts that are caused by creating all that stuff? If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t – do a bit of research and you will find that there are many.
Our market economy too often focuses on demanding that markets/businesses grow, grow, grow, often without taking into account that “matter is neither created nor destroyed.” around here it’s only changed from one form to another. When markets grow without recognizing that nature in fact has limits, disastrous environmental consequences are bound to occur – just look at BP’s big “oops” and keep tabs on the long-term consequences of this national disaster.
Folks, it’s bigger than you think. Rather than continuing to falsely believe that our World’s resources are limitless and/or that pollution is not that bad, or that the Mother Earth can grow, grow, grow, just the way we want our markets to do, or that we can convert natural resources into synthetic products without impacting both environmental and human health, let’s get real and accept that this isn’t the case, and try a better approach to sustain our future. Start with the 4R for our future.
